It is widely accepted that walking or running can improve one's health and fitness. Where it is inconvenient or undesirable to walk or walk out-of-doors, treadmills can be used to enable a person to walk or run in place.
In general, treadmills have a stationary structure, a translating surface and one or more mechanisms for creating the translational movement. In a typical embodiment, an endless belt rotates about two parallel rollers located on opposite ends of the stationary structure. The stationary structure is designed such that the rotating endless belt is taut around the outer surface of the parallel rollers, and coupled to follow their rotational direction. A support deck, located slightly below the rotating endless belt, provides a rigid surface to support the weight of a user.
While the above-described treadmill design is satisfactory to provide a walking or running surface, it suffers from considerable friction among the components. For example, as the user steps onto the rotating belt, the belt is pressed against the support deck, thereby causing frictional contact between the stationary and non-stationary parts. This frictional contact is generated each time the user takes a step and may severely diminish the performance and longevity of the various treadmill components.
It is therefore advantageous to minimize the frictional contact between the rotating belt and the support deck of a treadmill. This is typically achieved by applying a lubricating medium between the two surfaces, prior to assembly and at servicing intervals. Unfortunately, servicing of treadmills is costly because the existing practice requires that a skilled technician loosen or remove the endless belt to apply a uniform and adequate layer of lubricant. Moreover, servicing renders the treadmill unusable for periods of time ranging from 1/2 hour to 1 hour. While this down-time may seem nominal, it becomes significant to businesses such as health clubs that may own numerous treadmills.
At the other extreme, it is known to provide treadmills with built-in lubricating devices. U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,679, issued Jul. 18, 1995, entitled "Exercise treadmill and method", incorporates electronically controlled devices for automatically applying a lubricating medium to either the inner surface of the rotating belt, or directly onto the support deck. In one embodiment, the lubricant is drawn from a reservoir and sprayed onto the desired surface. In other embodiments, lubricating bars are affixed near the application surface. Lubrication control systems then track servicing intervals and automatically activate the lubrication process. While these automatic lubricating treadmills represent an excellent way of minimizing the friction generated by the user, they are of limited commercial impact. The additional lubrication mechanisms and their control circuitry can significantly increase the cost of the treadmill, and their benefit can generally only be enjoyed by purchasers of new treadmills. Individual consumers, who have already spent a minimum of $300 for their treadmill, are unlikely to spend more for the latest improvement in treadmill technology. Health clubs, who spend on the order of $2,000 to $3,000 for each treadmill, are bound by capital budget and depreciation considerations that make such purchases cost prohibitive.
Consequently, there is a need for a device and method for lubricating the friction bearing surfaces of a treadmill, that will enable quick and adequate lubrication, and also reduce the overall time required for servicing. Additionally, there is a need for a treadmill "do-it-yourself" maintenance kit which may obviate or reduce the need for a skilled service technician. Other and further objects and advantages will appear hereinafter.